The inverted pyramid of leadership Published Jan. 31, 2007 By Lt. Col. James Jacobson 573rd Global Support Squadron commander TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Regardless of your leadership role in the Air Force, be it an element, section, flight, squadron, group or wing, you are entrusted with personnel to lead and a mission to accomplish. Many of today's leaders view their organization as a pyramid, with senior leadership atop the apex, disseminating orders and snapping the proverbial finger expecting immediate responses. Below him or her reside lower echelon leaders and workers organized in subordinate tiers. This construct is irrespective of your organization's size. If you want to succeed you need to get to the top. Your organization then succeeds because you pulled them to victory. This perception of leadership has been the norm in nearly every military, governmental and civilian organization. We grew up in it, we're comfortable with it and we expect to lead in the same structure. Control often rests with one individual. Leaders view workers as personnel to be positively or negatively persuaded to achieve the desired goals of the unit or organization. Few will argue the part of the organizational pyramid that truly makes the mission happen is the base of the pyramid. A squadron commander or section or flight leader has but two hands and one brain. He or she is incapable of making all the decisions or completing all the tasks necessary to achieve mission success. Compare this leader to the squadron, section or flight's Airmen in total and the power of their arms and brains far outstrip its leader. Consider for an instant, a notion that subordinate tiers are not meant to be supporting of those above them, but instead supported by those placed in leadership positions below them. Envision the organizational pyramid inverted. The leader stands at the bottom of the organization, supporting those who actually make the mission happen. In this organization the leader doesn't ask, "What are you doing for me?" but instead correctly queries the subordinate, "What can I do to help you?" or "What do you need to be successful?" This simple variation of a leader's perspective creates an enormous difference in a leader's efficacy. The subordinate, doing the work, is empowered with the resources and the freedom to make the best decision for the particular process or task assigned to them. The individual now thrives in the environment where they are entrusted to make their process, system or task more effective. The organization's leader is successful because his or her personnel push, pushed the unit and its mission to achieve its goals. Some will find this notion incompatible with a military organization. They'll argue you need a leader atop the organization to navigate the way to success. To dispose of this misconception, visualize a leader pivoting the inverted pyramid around its point. The leader's actions project a new direction for the top or base of the pyramid. This shift in orientation is the leader's vision. He or she projects the desired course for the unit but the organization itself finds the most effective means and completes the journey. The next time you see your subordinates, invert your pyramid and ask them "what can I do to help you?"